Dolph Ziggler fans rejoice. Despite years of missed opportunities and squandered chances, Ziggler’s rise back to the top is officially underway after defeating The Miz and winning the Intercontinental Championship at WWE’s 2014 edition of SummerSlam.

Ringside Xcess had the news:

Dolph Ziggler defeats The Miz to become the NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion! #SummerSlam

The battle between these two men started when The Miz threw Ziggler out of the Battle Royal for the vacant Intercontinental title at Battleground. Ziggler had eliminated Sheamus and looked to be the winner, but after spending most of the match outside hiding, The Miz climbed into the ring and stole the victory.

Since returning from filming The Marine 4: Moving Target, Miz has played the quintessential egomaniac heel. While many members of the WWE Universe hate his character, he is using classic heel techniques to draw that emotion and is doing his job well. The win at Battleground was a perfect example of those tactics.

Ziggler has spent the time since Battleground trying to get his hands on The Miz, but had no luck before SummerSlam. Distractions from The Miz during matches against Alberto Del Rio and Heath Slater have resulted in losses along the way, but there was nowhere to run on Sunday.

The win gives Ziggler the Intercontinental Championship for the second time in his career. For some reason, the old-school title looks more important around the waist of a talented performer like The Showoff.

Common-sense booking should call for a rematch at Night of Champions that Ziggler will once again win. The Miz will be able to move on and fill the role of the departed Del Rio as the jobber to the top stars, but there could be something even bigger in store for Ziggler.

Do you want to see another The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler PPV match?

YesNoSubmit Votevote to see results

Do you want to see another The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler PPV match?

Yes

62.3%

No

37.7%

Total votes: 2,093

A possible unification match between Ziggler and Sheamus with both the Intercontinental and the United States championships on the line would be the perfect secondary storyline. The angle would unify the secondary titles just as the company did with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and give prestige back to the IC title.

While Sheamus would likely go on to win the unified titles, an intriguing possibility would be Ziggler getting the victory and Sheamus turning heel out of frustration. The turn could lead to a longer program between the two wrestlers with Sheamus eventually going over as the heel.

Let’s just hope WWE has the follow through to make this all happen.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player below (some language NSFW).